Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review: The Indie That Won Game of the Year
Sandfall Interactive's debut RPG won nine awards at The Game Awards 2025, including Game of the Year. Built by 30 developers on a sub-$10M budget, it redefined what indie studios can achieve.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 did not just show up at the 2025 awards season. It dominated. The game won nine out of thirteen nominations at The Game Awards 2025, including Game of the Year, making it the most awarded title in the show’s history. It then swept the Golden Joystick Awards, winning all seven categories it was nominated for, including Ultimate Game of the Year.
For a debut title from a 30-person French studio with a budget under $10 million, that is extraordinary.
A Visual Showcase
The first thing anyone notices about Expedition 33 is how it looks. Built on Unreal Engine 5, the game features environments and character models that rival AAA productions. The art direction leans into a painterly, almost surrealist aesthetic inspired by the Belle Époque period, setting it apart from the photorealism trend. Every frame feels like it could hang in a gallery.
But visuals alone do not win Game of the Year. What makes Expedition 33 special is how its combat system reinvents turn-based RPG mechanics with real-time reaction elements. Quick time events and timed actions keep every turn engaging, creating encounters that feel tactical without the tedium. If you are designing your own combat mechanics, our complete guide to combat balance breaks down the variables that make systems like this work.
The Small Team Advantage
Sandfall Interactive was founded by Guillaume Broche, a former Ubisoft developer who left in 2020 to build his dream RPG. The core team of about 30 developers was supported by around 50 outsourced specialists and professional voice actors including Charlie Cox, Andy Serkis, and Ben Starr.
The game launched on April 24, 2025 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, available day one on Xbox Game Pass. It became the biggest third-party title launch on Game Pass that year. By October 2025, it had sold over five million copies.
This is exactly the kind of story we love to cover in our Dev Corner: tools and techniques that level the playing field for indie studios.
Should You Play It?
If you enjoy RPGs with deep combat systems and a strong artistic vision, Expedition 33 is essential. It is particularly recommended for fans of Persona and Final Fantasy who want something that feels fresh while respecting genre traditions. For another turn-based RPG worth your time, Escape from Ever After delivers sharp Paper Mario-inspired combat with an anti-capitalist fairy tale twist.
The game holds a 92 on Metacritic with universal acclaim, and its user score reached a record-setting 9.7. In February 2026, the Sandfall team was knighted under the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture for their contribution to French cultural output.
Score: 9/10
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is available on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Also available on Xbox Game Pass.
Written by
Florian HuetiOS dev by day, indie game dev by night. Trying to give life to GameDō Studio.
Building games and talking about the ones I can't stop playing.
